Hamilton has claimed a record setting pole at the Italian GP 2017 qualifying today. A rainy and lengthy session at the Monza circuit that saw the Mercedes driver score his 69th pole in Formula 1, beating Michael Schumacher’s record of 68 poles. Q1 was largely delayed by rainfall including a red flag after Grosjean crashed his Haas in the wet conditions.
The Red Bulls qualified second and third but are facing penalties for unscheduled technical changes. They will start from the back of the field tomorrow.
Italian GP 2017 Qualifying
1. Hamilton – Mercedes
2. Verstappen – Red Bull
3. Ricciardo – Red Bull
4. Stroll – Williams
5. Ocon – Force India
6. Bottas – Mercedes
7. Raikkonen – Ferrari
8. Vettel – Ferrari
9. Massa – Williams
10. Vandoorne – McLaren
The Italian GP 2017 qualifying kicked off with rain on the track, it was Grosjean who complained first of the conditions on the track before hitting the barriers at the end of the straight.
“F*** me – I told you it was too dangerous!” said the Haas driver as the red flags flew bringing the race to a stop.
All cars were on full wets, and before the red flags, Hamilton had managed to top the charts with a 1m40.128s just ahead of Vettel. Grosjean crashed out while running third.
🚩 RED FLAG 🚩 Q1
Moments after saying: " I can't see where I'm going," GRO spins off#Quali #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/sIvBJkFhnk
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2017
Those full wet blue tyres can shift around 65 litres of water per second at full speed (300kph). But standing water is the problem #F1
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) September 2, 2017
The race had to wait for the rain to subsidize, drivers were out of their cars and into the garage, about 13 minutes left into Q1 when the clock froze. Meanwhile, Magnussen also complained that his helmet was leaking water, but the delay meant they could find the leak and fix it to avoid poor visibility.
After a lengthy stop Q1 action was on again, Hamilton improved on his time and everyone was able to set a time as well. Some even changed to inters. In the end, Magnussen, Palmer, Ericsson, Wehrlein and Grosjean were eliminated from this session. Bottas topped the session followed by Hamilton, Vettel, Verstappen, Stroll, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Massa, Perez and Vandoorne.
Into Q2, Mercedes, Raikkonen and Vandoorne started on inters while the likes of Perez, Verstappen, Ocon, Kvyat, Hulkenberg and Sainz were on wets. DRS was disabled for the whole of Q2. Verstappen managed to go fastest on 1m37.739s with Hamilton coming second after the first runs.
😮 VAN goes sideways at the Parabolica #Quali #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/kNUMVcGRpa
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2017
The top spot switched hands between Hamilton and Vettel after both beat Verstappen’s time. A 1m34.660s by Hamilton just after the flags confirmed his top place once again. In this session, Perez, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Kvyat and Sainz were all eliminated. The top ten comprised of Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Vettel, Stroll, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Massa, Vandoorne and Ocon.
Q3 kicked off with rain and once again the field had a mix of rubber. Hamilton, Bottas and Vettel were on inters while Verstappen, Stroll, Raikkonen, Massa, Vandoorne and Ocon went for wets.
Big hand for the Monza crowds 👏👏👏 #Quali #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/9fikRrptYT
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2017
Ocon set the clock rolling on 1m37.782s but Verstappen took that spot with a much quicker 1m37.737s lap. The top changed hands once more this time between Hamilton and Ricciardo.
In the end, Hamilton crossed the finish line to take pole position with a 1m35.554s. Verstappen came in second while Ricciardo made it a double podium for Red Bull by finishing Q3 in third.
